Antiques of the Past
by PrinceoftheBendedPaw
Summary: After digging through the confines of the dusty monastery attic, Rin comes across a photo from Shiro's exorcist days alongside a crimson eyed fellow. Just who is this person and how are they related to his father? What Rin finds may prove beneficial in improving himself both as a exorcist and demon. Perhaps even Yukio may discover something from this stranger.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello everyone! It's about time I've uploaded something to this website. I greatly appreciate constructive criticism and hope you enjoy what I've got so far! Sorry if it's short.**

It was nearly unbelievable to the Okumura twins how much time had gone by since they first began attending True Cross Academy. The both of them were improving tremendously through the path of exorcism day by day, but the dark memories of several months ago still lingered in their thoughts. These aforementioned memories are what struck the brothers as they returned to the Southern Cross Boys' Monastery for the school's winter break. It was one of those rare occasions where Mephisto allowed the students to stray from the campus of True Cross and take a well deserved vacation to rest. Exorcism was certainly no easy job as it required massive amounts of strength from the body just as well as the mind to survive.

Nevertheless they were happy to be back in the company of their childhood home and its remaining inhabitants; Seishiro Nagamoto, Naoya Kyodo, Izumi, and Maruta. The priests were also happy for the boys to be back in their presence and greeted them very warmly as they entered the front door to escape from the biting cold outdoors. The snow outside fell like feathers, but a great amount of it had gathered on their shoulders to which they brushed off immediately.

Little was discussed when they sat down for a meal together provided by the master chef himself, Rin. Only small topics were glossed over such as how they were adjusting to the dorms, who were their friends, what was the academy like, and how they were improving their skills. Even the state of Kuro the cat sidhe was mentioned who was currently left back at the dorms. A heavy silence fell over the exorcists when they returned back their food, each of them sensing the odd emptiness that the room held. The cause was obvious but to speak of it seemed taboo and would not have a pleasing outcome neither would want to deal with.

The next day also held the same atmosphere for Nagamoto noticed that Yukio would stare at the most blatant of areas in the monastery as if in a trance before readjusting himself to continue reading his book. Rin would also do the same as he wandered the halls and glanced at the windows to watch the snowfall. Hell, it was every vicinity of the abode that stimulated some sort of memory in the Okumuras' minds. It was where they had lived for the past fifteen years after all. Still, the idle movements due to minor heartache concerned the old chief priest. So he cheerfully suggested, "Rin, Yukio, how's about you two head up to the attic?" The boys stopped what they were doing to bring their attention to him.

"The attic? We have an attic?" Rin echoed with an eyebrow slightly raised. He was completely unaware that such a room existed in their home. It was probably another one of those exorcist secrets kept hidden away from him while he had still been oblivious to the whole ordeal. But then again, he had been a very troublesome child when he was younger so it was probably to keep him from entering the area and making some kind of mischief. His father had been far more secretive than he realized as time went on. Yukio didn't seem as perturbed, which made him realize he already had knowledge of such a place or simply didn't care.

Nagamoto couldn't help but laugh at the older brother's facial expression. "Of course! It would be good for someone to finally get to clearing out the space since no has had the time or effort to do it." He glared at the nearby Izumi who gave a small chuckle in response.

"Come on I'll get it eventually, don't make these boys do it for me."

"Uh-huh. I'll believe that when all those damned coal tar get cleaned from the vents. Anyway, what do you two think? Will you do it?"

Yukio placed a bookmark in his reading material and set it on a nearby desk before answering, "Gladly."

Rin gave a nod along with a smile.

"Alright then. Follow me."

Nagamoto had led them to the second story of the monastery home where he pushed a paneling in the ceiling to reveal a set of wooden steps. "Just head right up these steps and you should find stacks of boxes that need to be sorted out. I think there's also a broom to sweep the dust. Good luck!" He left the brothers to return to his own duties in the monastery.

Rin immediately climbed up the steps to survey the scene of the previously unknown floor in their home. Just as Nagamoto had said, there were several stacks of boxes, but he had underestimated what he had actually meant by "several". There were many groups of the cardboard containers spread about the room that towered high like skyscrapers. The dust was also a major obstacle as it blanketed nearly everything in sight down to the cobwebs the size of tennis balls. This was an impossible task. No wonder Izumi kept flaking out. "What the hell?! How are we supposed to clean all this?!" Rin practically screeched.

When Yukio went up to join his brother he couldn't help but do a double take to the situation before their eyes. He sighed. "Might as well get it over with before it gets any worse." The bespectacled boy caught sight of the faded wooden broom against the wall and instantly set to work on clearing the dust.

Rin continued to grumble before giving in to their task at hand. "Fine." He went over to a nearby box of items and began to dig through it. This particular box was filled to the brim with photos, so Rin set them outside the box to stack in neat piles before placing them back in. The next one he went through had some of the boys' clothes from when they were younger. They clearly didn't fit either of them anymore but Rin still had fond memories from the certain pairs. An example was the uniforms he and his little brother had worn from when Shiro had made them be a part of the church choir. He gave an inward chuckle at those times which quickly turned into a small frown. He really missed his father still, but it almost helped by cleaning out the memories of the past so to say.

Yukio himself had now begun to go through the stack of cardboard boxes on the other side of the room. They had contained some of Shiro's old exorcist supplies to which the boy had decided he would set aside to eventually use in his own exorcist missions. It arranged from rare sets of holy bullets to powerful firearms. One had their perks as paladin after all.

Without noticing, he had lifted the lids to one of the boxes a bit too forcefully causing a cloud of dust to sail in his half-demon brother's direction. The action greatly tickled his brother's sensitive nose to which he let out a powerful sneeze, collapsing the stack of photos he had just arranged.

"Yukio! Look what you made me do!"

"My apologies, brother." It was clear by the younger twin's tone of voice that he did not harbor as much concern as the other did.

Rin grumbled at his reply and moved to sort through the pictures again when he suddenly stopped. A certain photograph had caught his eye. There were three people in the frame outside of some sort of gate post. On the left was Shiro, slightly hunched over and gesturing a peace sign in his left hand. The old man gave a crooked smile as a cigarette hung out of the corner of his mouth. He displayed the same happiness that always seemed to radiate off of him. On the right was a little a little girl in a skirt and down jacket with fiery hair. She was resting her arms on the shoulders of the man in middle while averting her amethyst gaze with a pouty expression. But the look she gave seemed to be a mere tease therefore not genuine. The hair and eyes was a clear sign that this little girl was Shura to which Rin snickered. She actually looked cute and non-threatening for once. And finally, the man in the middle. He was completely hunched over on his knees to allow little Shura to lean on him. He also wore a black exorcist jacket just like Shiro and glanced up at the camera with bright crimson eyes. A message had been written in the top right corner, but was unfortunately smudged to the point it was now illegible.

Rin continued to peer at this man, but he had no recognition of who this person might be. Eventually, he turned to Yukio for answers. "Yukio, do you know who this is?" He pointed at the picture for emphasis.

The young exorcist adjusted the brim of his glasses before peering at the certain specimen in the photo. "I think I remember seeing him briefly a few times when I was just starting exorcism . . . why do you ask?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm just curious." The next thing he knew, he was tucking the photo into the pocket of his hoodie.

To Rin's surprise, the whole attic had been cleared of any clutter and dust in just two hours. He was sure it was going to take up the rest of the day. As a reward for him and his brother's efforts, Nagamoto decided to make dinner for them on that night.

Soon they had both gone to bed and the day was over. Rin lay in his bed awake for a few hours before sleeping, contemplating the contents within the photo that now lay in his drawer by the bed. Just who was this person? And why was it bothering so much? It seemed like he had a feeling of some sort that if he got to know this person, it might help him discover more things about his old man. Ever since he had found out that Shiro was the paladin of all things, Rin had a hidden desire to find out more about what he did so that it may help him along his journey to become a great exorcist. Maybe, just maybe one day he could surpass Yukio and become the paladin like Shiro was. He could just imagine it, wearing his own full-length black exorcist jacket and receiving praise from all those around him about his effortlessness in slaying demons. But of course such dreams weren't going to come easy with the massive amount of training left ahead of him and the Vatican keeping an eagle eye on his every move.

Many still believed he was irresponsible, but he was working on fixing that. It was also possible that meeting this mysterious red-eyed exorcist may help him. He really hoped it did. As Rin drifted to sleep, he made a mental plan to find Shura once he and Yukio returned to the academy. She was in the picture so she just might know who he is.

Little did Rin know, this exorcist was making his plans to trek back to True Cross soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: And here is chapter 2! Thank you to the two people who gave a review! I really appreciate it. I'm not going to let this fanfic die out among the ashes of other dead fanfictions as I've seen so many authors do. But then again I've also seen some have put their stories to a complete stop due to personal reasons which brings me to a topic of my own. As I'm submitting this school is starting for me tomorrow which means I may not be able to update as much as I'd like. But not to worry! I'll do my best in at least putting up something for you people and myself as well to enjoy. Now I'm not quite satisfied with this chapter due to all the passive sentences, but that is what the constructive criticism is for. So I can fix them. Enjoy!**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Blue Exorcist or The Miyama-Uguisu Mansion Incident._**

* * *

Winter break had come and gone in a flash. After two whole weeks, the brothers had already gone to re-packing their things and return to True Cross Academy Town. With a heave they carried their suitcases and headed out the door. Rin and Yukio said their goodbyes to the priests who were also a bit disappointed themselves about how little time it seemed they had spent together. But as they say, time flies fast when you're having fun. The group of men waved to the twins as they exited through the front gate.

"Goodbye boys! Have a safe return trip!"

"Don't forget you're welcome back anytime!"

"Take care of each other!"

"Goodbye!"

"See ya soon!"

"Bye!" the boys returned with waves of their own and bright smiles. There was a subway station a few blocks ahead that they had hitched a ride on for the journey here and now for the journey back. It was quite convenient to live in the city area at times such as these. The weather had not changed in the slightest from when they first arrived. Powdered snow continued to sift from the clouds and move about in zig zag motions due to the faint wind. It covered everything to the ground beneath their feet to the rooftops above. Rin enjoyed the cold but Yukio did not because of how easily he got the flu. Therefore he kept the scarf wrapped around his neck over his nose and mouth in an effort to prevent any possible illness. The older Okumura lazily stuck out his tongue to catch a few snowflakes, exposing his demonic fangs.

On the way down the crowded sidewalks bustling with both street vendors and tourists alike, there was little conversation between Rin and Yukio. However there was the incessant chatter of all the people around them.

Again, the taboo topic pressed forcefully like a vise on their minds until Rin decided to break it. "Did you go to see him?"

The vague question momentarily puzzled Yukio. "Who?"

"Dad."

His breath had caught in his throat at the simple word. _Dad_. Of course he had gone to see him. There was no way to avoid it. In the side front yard, there was a private cemetery that the monastery kept where they had buried Shiro Fujimoto. At his grave was a majestic stone cross and a bundle of white roses that Yukio had replaced in exchange for the other withering bouquet. He stood there for a good hour before heading back inside for warmth. What he said while in his dead father's presence he'll never let anyone know. Why was it so hard to talk about him? Shiro was dead and had been for several months now. He had already gone through the grieving process and reached acceptance. So why did he feel the faint threat of tears stinging at the corners of his eyes? Yukio inhaled before giving his response. "Yes I did. I replaced the roses for him. I don't think dad would've wanted a bundle of shriveled plants to remain at his grave for long."

Rin gave a hearty laugh. "Yeah. . . the old man was surprisingly picky for his age. I also went to see him myself of course. It's funny; I could've sworn I heard him speak to me when I left the site. Probably just some weird delusion though."

Yukio gave a smile as he reached up to wipe his fogged over glasses with his scarf. His brother was always a comfort to have around. But he'd never tell him that either. It would only put a boost in his already oversized ego. They now neared the subway station and waited along the platform with the other soon to be passengers. The florescent lights in the tiled ceiling gave a steady, low hum. He could also hear the approaching subway screech as it slid along the steel tracks.

Rin absentmindedly adjusted the black strap attatched to the red case for the sword on his back as he looked down at his boots. The floor of the subway station was covered in patches of verglas and dirt. A tiny roach scuttled at the other end of the platform which made him grimace."Hey, what are we doing in your class when we get back?" he questioned once he returned his sapphire gaze to his younger brother who appeared as stiff and rigid as always. It was kinda hard to tell his expression with the scarf covering the lower portion of his face.

The young exorcist was giving a smirk at the question unbeknownst to him. Oh he had quite the lovely answer for Rin. Stifling a laugh, he gave the reply, "Once we return, I expect you and the other students to complete a 40 question test and you'll be given the assignment to complete 6 pages maximum of homework." His smirk deepened at his brother's dramatic expression.

"Wh- WHAT?! SHIT!" Despair had overcome the older brother's features, draining away all and any positive emotions he may have felt before. Even his pointed ears seemed to droop a little. He had been unaware of such events probably because of the minor dozing he had done in class. That was another bad habit he was still trying to break. At least he was getting better about it. The dark cloud still hovered over him until he noticed the gleam in Yukio's eyes. The four eyed mole face was enjoying this! His despair turned to rage.

"Brother! There are children present!"

"To hell with that!" He would have begun his full on rant had it not been that the subway arrived. Looking around, he noticed a few people giving him disdainful looks and hugging their wide eyed little ones close. That was enough to make him pipe down . . . for now at least. "We'll finish this later."

Yukio rolled his eyes. He took back his thoughts from earlier about his brother being a comfort. "Whatever you say." He and his grumpy sibling took their seats along the sidewall as subway car rolled into motion. The lights flashed by in the underground tunnels blending to a blur by the rapid speed it was moving at. All the occupants within the vehicle swayed to the side as it headed around curves and encountered small bumps. It was a long ride, so Rin had taken this time to snooze. Yukio had gotten out his book from earlier. The older of twins kept falling onto the younger's shoulder to which he gingerly brushed him off.

Eventually the ride ended and the boys returned to the cobbled streets of True Cross Town with its amalgamation of buildings, waterways, bridges and all. The brothers had now taken a taxi to reach the entrance gates and head to their dorm. Other students were also flooding through the gate entrance upon returning from vacations of their own. A familiar blonde head appeared among the sea of students sporting a knit cap atop her head and tiny greenman upon her shoulder.

"Shiemi! Shiemi, over here!" Rin called out to the petite blonde.

She swiveled her head in confusion before resting her sights upon the Okumura brothers. A smile began to grace her delicate features. "Hi Rin! Hi Yuki!" Despite the traffic of all the incoming students, she managed to make her way to them, bulky suitcase in hand.

Yukio returned a polite smile. "Hello Shiemi how was your vacation?"

Upon approaching she set down her luggage to better engage in conversation. Nee also given a squeak of salutation before the girl began to speak. "It was very good actually. Izumo and I went to her hometown along with Paku to see the sights. There sure were a lot of people so I was kinda nervous for a while."

"Oh cool! Glad you guys are getting along. My brother and I visited the old monastery."

"That sounds like a worthwhile trip then. Well, I've gotta go now. See you in class tomorrow!"

"See ya!" the twins said in unison. Later they had reached their dorm building and Rin collapsed on to the bed upon reaching their bedroom. Yukio was instead diligently unpacking his suitcase, returning items either to his dresser or closet. A black figure darted around the corner of their door and leapt next to Rin. It was Kuro.

The cat sidhe gave a meow of greeting and nudged his side. " _Hi Rin! I guarded the dorm just like you asked me to! How was your trip?_ "

"Ughhhhh so tired. . ." He turned over on his side and pulled the nearby blanket over his head. Kuro poked at his head in irritation which he ignored. The half-demon decided that it could wait till tomorrow for him to unpack all his things. In fact everything could wait. He was just so exhausted . . . . . wait a minute . . . tomorrow . . . tomorrow was. . . "HOLY CRAP I'VE GOTTA STUDY FOR THAT TEST!" his now unfurled tail became rigid as panic consumed him. His outburst frightened Kuro who tripped off the side of the bed as the mound of blankets went flying. He began to screech loudly as he grabbed the nearby textbook and flipped the pages to the selected chapter. Kuro gave a meow of annoyance at the sudden outburst, his tail lashing from side to side.

"I told you to bring your textbook along on the trip Rin, but you didn't listen," Yukio chastised.

"Shut up," Rin hissed in response. He had now gathered himself up into the corner of his bed and held the textbook by propping it on his knees. It wasn't the most effective method, but at least it was comfortable.

"Alright brother, I'm going to sleep now. Make sure to turn the desk lamp on to see. Goodnight."

"Night Yukio." Several hours went by as Rin studied for his test. He had dozed off a few times, which was not at all surprising, so he had to smack himself awake. Unfortunately he had fallen asleep altogether halfway through the chapter and was unprepared anyway for the next day.

The test on that following day was extremely difficult. Not only that but it was painfully long. Rin ended up being the last to finish on the test to no surprise. Hopefully some of his bullshit answers were partially correct. Luck just never seemed to be on his side. After receiving the homework and finishing the cram school class all together, the half-demon boy headed over to the selected area for his daily training with Shura. She had asked the boy to meet her inside near the old batting cages for some sparring. As he made his way over to the area, he couldn't help but think over his important question to Shura. The dark haired boy made sure to place the photo of the trio in his messenger bag before school had started. It was definite that he was going to receive answers this way.

The flame haired exorcist was sitting upon some wooden seats while in the process of taking a drink when he arrived. She set the can to the side of the solid wall and gave a grin upon his entrance. "Hey kid, did ya have a nice break?"

Rin scratched the back of his head. "Yeah I guess. It was nice to be back at home."

"Alright. I'd tell you about how mine was, but that's classified if ya get what I mean."

The young exorcist gave a disturbed look. Did she mean what he thinks she meant?

"Nah I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Just like that four-eyed chicken you're both so gullible sometimes. Anyway let's get right on to it, shall we?" She summoned her sword from her tattooed chest and drew it in the direction of Rin, the purple blade giving off a brilliant sheen from the surrounding lamp lights.

The boy himself removed kurikara from its decorative red casing, but stopped at there. "Hold on a second. I have something I want to ask you."

Shura slightly arched an eyebrow. Whatever it was he was acting pretty serious about it. She let her blade wielding hand fall at her side. "Okay then kid, go ahead."

"Well I was cleaning out the room to the old man's attic at the monastery and found a picture that just seemed interesting to me. You're also in the picture so I think you might know. . ," he paused to reach into his bag and pull out the aforementioned photo, "who is this person?" He pointed out to her the man in the middle, same as he'd done with Yukio. Shura squinted a bit at the slight blurriness of the photograph before her eyes widened upon seeing the dark figure with crimson orbs.

"That's. . ." She then began to softly chuckle as the memories came flooding to her especially of that moment the photo was taken. "Ahh I remember him. This used to be one of Shiro's disciples. Damn I miss him."

Rin was happy to find out that asking Shura had not been a lost cause and was practically giddy with joy. "But who is he?"

The female was about to respond until a smirk spread across her face. "How's about you beat me in this spar first and then I'll tell ya?" She brought broadside of her sword in front of herself to signal preparation.

"Deal." He unsheathed his own blade causing blue flames to erupt all over his body and ears to elongate as were the usual transformation. The half-demon readied himself into position for Shura to give the signal to start. Kurikara was held at side angle so he could begin by firing a long range attack using his flames.

The woman adjusted her posture for the final time. "Start!" Shura declared as she rushed forward with her sword raised about her.

Rin gave a shout as he released a wall of flames in her direction (he had made sure they wouldn't burn her since he didn't actually want to harm his instructor) only for Shura to roll out of the way and clash blades which released a resounding ring throughout the room. The Okumura boy gave an outward grunt as he was pushed back by the debilitating force of her attack. Shura began to take notice on how the was improving on his skills as seen in recent missions, but she was far more experienced and slowly gained the upper hand. They had kept at this for quite a while until the half-demon boy managed to knock the older exorcist off her feet. He held the tip of his sword near her throat, forcing her to stay in place.

"I win. Now will you tell me?" His excitement was catching up to him again as was clear by his tone of voice.

Shura gave a small smile. She really was proud of how Shiro's son was improving little by little each day, yet he was still just a kid. "Nice job Rin. . . but don't think you've won so early!" She pushed out her leg to trip the dark haired boy who immediately collapsed onto his side. The buxom woman rolled onto her side to stand up and pressed a boot on Rin's chest. She raised a teasing eyebrow. "Who's the winner now?"

"Dammit," he groaned in protest. Shura moved her foot to give a helping hand to Rin. As soon as he righted himself once again, he began to absently brush off invisible debris from his shoulders. He and the older woman put their weapons away. The teen was utterly disappointed at being caught off guard. To seek out the identity of this mystery exorcist bothered him and he had just walked himself into another dead end. Who would he have to go to now? Mephisto? He gave an inward shudder at the thought. He'd take anyone but that clown to give him information.

The fiery haired woman took notice of Rin's now slumping shoulders and sour attitude. She gave a sigh. This wild kid was never gonna give her a break, eh? "Hmm. . . actually I'll let you get a freebie on this one. Besides, it's nothin' too personal."

The boy's demeanor changed in an instant. "Really?"

"Yeah yeah. Just listen up before I change my mind. Now let's see. . ," she rubbed her index finger under her chin in thought. "Where do I begin. . . Ah I know. I'll tell ya bout the day this picture took place. This is when I first met this exorcist and went on my first mission. To be specific, this is when I met the first class exorcist, Night."

* * *

A small snowstorm had begun to brew outdoors, whipping about the long, red scarf a dark haired figure wore. Snowflakes threatened to creep inside the folds of his coat, causing him to shiver. It seemed things would only get worse based on how fast the light was leaving the cloudy sky. But he had to keep moving forward on his journey, for there was no time to stop. After all, the inns were already miles away. It was a great discomfort, but he would survive.

Night hated the cold. He'd very much rather be curled up in blankets next to a heat source. But as mentioned before, there was nothing to be done. The exorcist was often set off on long distance missions due to his massive strength and durability. So it had been quite a while since he'd last seen the campus of his headquarters. However time went slower for him than most so he could've been gone many years and not even known it. What was it this time? Three or four? Possibly five? He had not the slightest idea.

This time his expedition back to True Cross had been a bit longer than expected due to a quick visit with an important someone. He wished he could spend more time with this person, but he already spent enough as is. There were other important people waiting for him. With these final thoughts, Night continued to trudge through the snow and sneezed.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Here is Chapter 3! It's much longer than my other two already existing chapters if you didn't notice. Just as I promised, I'm going to continue with this crazy story. I give the deepest of thanks to all who have reviewed, favorited, followed, and the like. I've also taken the reviews into deep consideration to ponder a few things as I've researched and done calculations for the ages in this flashback. What demon is Night even kin to? Is he some kind of cross breed? I noticed he has attributes to that of a cat sidhe, which is obvious, but you can't forget he used to have wings and also his fire powers are like a salamander. So then is he kin to both Azaezl and Ilbis? I'm still not too sure. Anyways, enjoy and make sure to give me any constructive criticism you may have.**

* * *

 _The day was a gusty one; colorful leaves in various shades of brown flew about the dirt ground and dispersed causing scraping noises as they brushed the area beneath them. A youthful, teen Shura was sitting upon a nearby stone block and listened to the whistling of the wind in the trees. Her expression was filled with slight agitation. A tall gate-like structure loomed above her head that composed of aging wooden material and metal rings that swayed in the wind._

 _It had been seven years now since Shiro took her from the clutches of Hachiro to start her own life in the city. Her extreme passion for the exorcist also had begun to lessen as time went by. She hardly saw the paladin anymore as she now lived at an orphanage with other orphans. He also had a pair of three-year-old twins to take care of that had to be babysat often by his group of priests. The man was still an exorcist and the strongest one at that, so he couldn't afford to spend all of his time with them either. But during the times she still lived with him, one could've mistaken him for Shura's father by the way he kept making sure she was in his line of sight at all times and the constant pelting of life lessons by association of small events. But like any father, Shiro Fujimoto was strict. He had decided to take Shura under his wing to train as an exorcist; but of course, his training wasn't easy. Upon seeing her skills with the snake blade, it greatly impressed him. They had now reached to the point where she was officially ready to join him on missions as an exwire. Only what sort of mission was it? A difficult one that could only be handled by the most experienced of exorcists, that's what._

" _I just got a call about a group of salamanders that are keeping anyone from entering this shrine," Shiro had spoken earlier that day as he came to visit. "Wanna come with me, Shura? You've become very strong so I'm pretty sure you can handle it."_

 _The flame haired fifteen-year-old stopped reading the exorcist book she was given to look up at the old exorcist in question. Salamanders? Weren't they those lizard dragons that were known to often be friendly? Shura was sitting at the desk in her room which was somewhat cramped, but it still gave her space. She didn't enjoy reading all too much, but she had a quiz tomorrow, so she focused her attention back to that. This was far more important to her at the moment. Also she was just lazy and wanted to mess with the old man._

 _A pang of irritation struck Shiro's nerves at the action. This kid… "Shura, you are coming with me. This would be very beneficial for your training."_

" _Mmmmm maybe tomorrow." She lazily laid her head against the table in front of her to emphasize her rebellion._

" _Goddammit there is no tomorrow! There is only now! Get up and get ready."_

" _No."_

 _Shiro sighed. It was days like these that he felt like he should've left her with that demon in the forest. But Shura was only a child and needed someone to be a proper guide for her. The nuns at this orphanage clearly did little to nothing in helping that seeing as they were all anti-violence. Even if he did originally hate children, he had to admit this experience was making him learn things he had never known before, even with the children he was taking care of now. He had definitely become a better person. But of course, he would never admit this. At least not now anyway. He continued to ponder his predicament until he thought of an idea. A grin reached his features. "Shura. . .if you don't come with me, I'm not going to come back."_

 _The teenage girl gave a false gasp of shock."Oh no, whatever shall I do? Yeah right. You couldn't permanently leave me even if ya wanted to. I'm your disciple, remember?"_

 _His grin disappeared. "Really? Then I guess I'll just have to denounce you as my disciple."_

 _She still wasn't convinced. "Okay then. Bye Shiro."_

" _Goodbye Shura. I'm really not coming back."_

 _The exwire ignored him as she pretended to sleep upon the wooden desk, her eyes closed shut._

 _Shiro turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him. He took his time in strolling down the dimly lit hallways of the orphanage to head back outdoors._

 _The flame haired girl reopened her amethyst eyes and lifted her head. That old paladin wasn't fooling anyone. She lifted the book on her desk back up to go over the text, but found she couldn't focus. Shiro's expression had been so serious. No... He wouldn't… the girl turned her attention to the wooden door. However, she quickly snapped her head towards the book. 'Stop giving into such ridiculous suggestions,' she told herself. It was too much. Shura burst from her chair and out into the hallway of the orphanage. She saw his retreating form pass through the exit. "Shiro! Let me come with you!_

 _The exorcist paused in his maneuver as he glanced back at the exwire. A soft smile played at his lips. "Then I guess you'll have to get ready."_

 _Her widened eyes began to narrow as she begrudgingly gave in to the deal. 'Damn you Shiro...bastard.' Slowly, she turned around and stomped all the way to her room to get ready. But just because she agreed didn't mean she wasn't gonna go easy on his offer. So she took her sweet time in going at a painfully long pace which caused Shiro to holler a few times through the door to hurry it up. When the scuffle was over, they finally made their way over to said shrine. This place was a site people often visited to pray for good luck and fortune. Yet neither child nor adult exorcist believed in such bullshit superstitions. It was all just a load of crap to them for people to distract themselves with such ridiculous things and hope for the best. But their standing in point of view didn't hold them back from coming to help the struggling exorcists against the flaming beasts of fury._

 _And that is how Shura came to sit on this stone block with a frown upon her face. She idly kicked the heel of her boots against the block in boredom, her amethyst eyes beginning to glaze over. It had already been about thirty minutes while she sat waiting for Shiro to return and go over their plan in taking down the demons. A large yawn escaped her mouth._

 _She watched as the rings above her clattered and made chiming sounds which were pleasant to the ear. They had a luster which was still bright and pleasant despite the clouds hovering over head. The objects were enough to grab her attention for a minute until something else did. In the distance, a dark figure emerged over the hill and started their descent down the slope. Shura gazed at the person in question. She had never seen them before. As they got closer and closer, she started to observe their appearance a little more. It was a man who wore a black exorcist coat and beige scarf just like Shiro. The clothing flapped behind him in the wind but he paid no mind to its possible hindrance. A long blue case that most likely housed a sword was strapped to his back. Shura couldn't help but wonder what the blade he wielded looked like. His hair was jet black and ruffled. It seemed to almost cover his eyes._

 _When he finally reached her vicinity, he observed his surroundings until his focal point reached the young girl. The man's expression was that of confusion. 'A child?' he thought. Seeing that there was no one else around to guide him to the group of exorcists, he took his chances and approached her._

 _As he approached, Shura got a better look at his appearance. He seemed to be about nineteen or twenty if she had to guess. The most stunning thing about him was his eyes. They were a rich crimson color that almost seemed to glow with dark undertones. He appeared to be in a weary state though by how faint circles loomed beneath his red orbs. She also took notice of how he had a badge on the right shoulder of his jacket. It had a picture of the true cross pin upon it and some words she didn't bother to read. She then glanced down at his shadow beneath him. Something about the shadow seemed odd, but she couldn't exactly think of what. He stopped and was about to speak until she had interrupted him. "Who are you?"_

 _A bit disgruntled, the man answered her question. "My name is Night. I'm an exorcist for Knights of the True Cross. What are you doing here? It's dangerous you know. Demons have been causing problems at this shrine. Shouldn't you be heading home?"_

 _Shura raised an eyebrow at his statement. He sure had an odd name. "I'm an exwire."_

 _Her statement had completely caught him off guard. An exwire being sent out on such a dangerous mission?! Just the thought of it was incredible to him. "Oh, alright. Could you tell me where the others are?"_

" _Umm I think they're up at the shrine talking about stuff. Dunno when they'll be done though."_

 _Night looked up ahead at the stone steps. He was about to head up to see the rest of his team until he completely forgot to ask the young girl's name. It would be extremely impolite if he didn't do so. He focused his gaze back to her and asked, "Well what is your name?"_

 _The teenager gave a proud smirk. "My name is-" She hopped off the stone block mid sentence and ran towards the group of approaching exorcists. The one leading the group was the old paladin himself whom the girl ran up to. "Shiro! What took you so long?"_

 _Night raised his eyebrows with an air of bewilderment. Was that Shiro's child? If, so, how come he never been informed of such a thing? Sure he was often gone and away for certain periods of time, but Shiro always made sure to contact him about important events. Then what was going on?_

 _The old bespectacled exorcist himself and the young girl approached him along with the others. "Hello Night, it's good you're here. I see you've met Shura." He gestured to the flame haired girl by his side that appeared to be in a sour mood._

" _Quite the nuisance isn't she," Arthur grumbled. Shura glared at the blonde man and called him a baldy in turn. Arthur Auguste Angel was currently another one of the disciples of Shiro at this point in time. Unlike the other exorcists, he had his coat fashioned to be the color white since he believed having it remain as black signified impurity. He was also young, having been only the age of eighteen. His large sword, caliburn was strapped to the side at his hip as always._

" _Calm down Angel. Shura may still be young, but as my trainee, I find her quite capable"_

 _The man only huffed in response._

 _Night's confusion melted away at the brief explanation. Ahh so she was another of his disciples. The paladin was always surprising him._

 _Shura eventually stopped her ocular assault upon Arthur. The important thing right now was to know how they were going to fight the salamanders._

 _Another exorcist now stepped forward and began to recite their plan. The exorcists were going to have the dragoons shoot at the ground near the shrine to lure the demons as the arias chanted to secure the area from possible outsiders. Once they got all six of the large beasts out of hiding, the tamers would send out their naiads to trap the reptilians. Then the knights and dragoons would deliver their final blows. Doctors would standby afterwards to treat any wounds or burns._

 _With the plan engraved in their minds, the group set off back towards the main area of the shrine to put things into motion. The dragoons drew their guns, some were snipers and others old-fashioned rifles, and the knights unsheathed their swords. All of them did except for Night. His blue case still remained strapped to his back, untouched and unmoving. Shura was befuddled. Shouldn't he be preparing? She had already summoned the purple sword from her chest. Why didn't he? Her pondering came to halt as they arrived to the aforementioned area. Another wooden structure was placed in a space around trees only this one looked almost like a shack which housed wishes upon placards and several sacred statues. There was also a cave around the back of this structure where the Salamanders had decided to take refuge._

 _Upon the call of the paladin, the group sprung into action. The arias chanted their fatal verses from the safety of the trees as the dragoons fired their weapons to the inner wall of the caves. For a time, nothing had happened until a set of large claws appeared covered in shining scales from the mouth of the cave. The golden salamander gave a loud uproar as it fully emerged along with an ochre one who gave a mere hiss, revealing its forked tongue. They opened their jaws wide and let out a large burst of flame to which the exorcists quickly avoided. As soon as the conflagration disappeared from their maws, the knights quickly moved in to start their strike against the creatures. The dragoons remained steadfast in drawing out the other one who was a deep maroon._

 _Shura left her gaze from the main fight to look at Night. He was still back with the rest of the group on standby as was she, moving not a muscle. His crimson orbs were slightly narrowed at the Salamanders. It was almost like he knew something that was going on which the others didn't. But why did he still not have his sword drawn? She decided the best course of action to quell her curiosity was just by asking him. She moved from Shiro's side where he was commanding the exorcists to stand by Night. Shura gave a small tug at his coat to get his attention._

" _Hm?" Night looked down to see the teen that had momentarily distracted him from the salamander's ruckus of speech._

" _Why aren't you fighting? All the other knights are already out on the field except you. Why?"_

 _Night gave a small smile. He thought her curiosity was cute and endearing. "They don't need me yet."_

" _But why?"_

" _Let's just say I'm special."_

 _Shura eventually realized she wasn't gonna get any straight answers from the exorcist and marched back to Shiro's side. His vagueness was infuriating her to point that she would've kicked him if the paladin wasn't around. She put her attention back to the fight enfolding in front of her._

 _Five of the six salamanders had already made their way out from the cave to retaliate the demon slayers; golden, ochre, maroon, acid green and indigo scales gleamed as they radiated blasting infernos. Arthur was striking his sword caliburn against the ochre one and putting up quite the fight. He slashed away at the streaks of flames and struck against the creature's scaly skin, causing it to give another loud outcry and spark of flame. The other exorcists were also holding themselves up pretty well. Only about three of the group had to go back for the doctors to the treat their injuries that prevented them from fighting._

 _A large menacing screech blasted from the cave. Some of the exorcists covered their ears at the loud phenomenon. A claw roughly the size of a bus emerged the cave entrance this time, the tips curling to horrific points that could shred a mere specimen in seconds. The gigantic body moved to reveal obsidian scales and yellow eyes that surveyed the scene with a deep intelligence. The horns upon its face were just as dangerous as its claws. The other salamanders momentarily halted their assault to turn towards the large obsidian salamander. It seemed as though it was their leader and they listened to its commands which came in deep rumbles and hisses. Its presence was so alarming that even the arias had stopped chanting._

 _Shura noticed Night began to suddenly tense up. To her delight, he began to draw the sword from its blue casing. The katana was covered in an intricate sheathe that composed of red, silver, and navy blue. A small crucifix was attached to a thread by the pommel of the sword. Her anticipation grew as he leapt into battle . . . but he didn't unsheathe his blade. He merely used the hilt of the sheathe to give a blow with such a great force that the obsidian salamander was forced backwards. It gave a deep hiss at him, releasing billows of smoke._

 _Shiro stopped his commands to join the others in battle against the apparent boss. He held up his guns and fired them at the array of salamanders which gave weakened cries. Shura joined him with her own blade raised, enacting the snake belly technique._

 _The dragoons and knights had now drawn them all into a circle, giving the opportunity for the tamers to attack. Said tamers cut into their hands to release blood into their summoning circles for the naiads. The familiars themselves were alluring and beautiful, but deadly. The kin of Egyn created orbs of water to their masters command so the salamanders could be trapped. Standing in a ring around the fire lizards, the water demons formed the giant bubble. Not able to withstand the lack of air and flames, the salamanders screeched even louder as they drowned. It wouldn't be long before their physical forms were reduced to mere ash and their spirit sent back to Gehenna._

 _Shura could hardly watch the salamanders as they cried out. For some reason she felt this kind of treatment to the demons was wrong, but they did attack villagers as the report had stated. The whole situation in itself was odd because salamanders were generally known to be affectionate towards people and would not harm them unless threatened. What had made the creatures so angry? Before she could think on it anymore, Night began to shout something to Shiro._

" _Stop it! Stop killing them! Release the water barrier!"_

 _The paladin and surrounding exorcists included looked at him with puzzling expressions._

" _Is something wrong, Night?"_

" _He's gone mad!"_

" _We can't release the barrier or the salamanders will attack us again!"_

" _Probably just trying to defend one of his kin."_

 _The dark haired exorcist seethed at the lack of understanding. "I can hear what they're saying! They were only trying to defend their child who's still back in the cave! So please! Let them go! They're innocent!"_

 _Shiro' eyes widened as he focused on something then nodded in understanding. He ordered the tamers to smudge out their summoning circles to which some of them did in a begrudging manner. The naiads disappeared in a mist as did the orbs of water, releasing the helpless salamanders. All but the dark obsidian one had fallen unconscious. It trained its yellow eyes upon the exorcists in a threatening manner. The demon raised its claw, posed to attack with a fluid motion until a glowing, red figure darted in front to hold it back and defend. That figure was Night._

 _Shura marveled at the sudden transformation he had gone through. A long black tail swished behind him, a set of silver horns and black cat-like ears appeared on his head, his clenched teeth had long fangs, and most disconcerting of all; red flames blanketed various areas of his body. His sword was also covered in the same flames which he held back against the paw of the large beast to prevent it from moving. And he began to talk to the creature which seemed to respond in turn! The young girl gaped at this sudden reveal. She remembered Shiro had told her that there were certain people that were born from breeding between humans and demons. There was a special name for them, but she had forgotten. What was it… "Is he a Nephilim?" she asked the paladin._

 _Shiro turned his attention from the fight down to Shura. "No. He's a demon that has been given the form of a human."_

 _Her amethyst eyes widened once more. This exorcist was truly amazing!_

 _As Night's conversation with the salamander went on, its force lessened and lessened. He made promises to the creature that he and the other exorcists would leave them and their child alone as long as they did not attack the villagers who truly meant no harm. He explained that their cave was next to a popular shrine and that humans only came here for the hope of future fortune; they didn't purposely mean to invade their territory. Eventually, the demon gave in the dark haired exorcist's demands and rested his claws back to the ground. He relinquished a pleased rumble of agreement. When the rest of his family woke up, he hissed at them to stand down for the humans were no longer a threat. He arched his head down to give Night a small nudge of thanks. The human cat-sidhe rested a hand upon his snout to emphasize his generosity. As the obsidian salamander realigned himself, he and the others headed back into the cave to attend to their now screeching child. The exorcists merely stood by as this event happened. With his demonic telepathy, Night had just saved them all from a horrible mistake. He sheathed his sword, causing all his demon attributes to disappear and leave a normal looking human with crimson eyes in place._

 _The doctors began their part of the mission and tended to all wounds. Arthur had received a nasty slash on his arm. He flinched in pain as the bandage was being wrapped. Shura herself had gotten a wound on her stomach and a few scratches on her face. It hurt, but she'd live. She was still astonished as she thought about the events that had just occurred. The first chance she got, Shura went over to Night to praise him for his efforts. "You're amazing! You're so powerful with that sword of yours."_

 _The human cat sidhe's cheeks began to flush. He wasn't all that used to being complimented by others. "Th-thank you," he stuttered. "You did pretty well yourself."_

 _Shura gave a grin. She hoped this guy continued to stick around so she could get to know him better. Shiro soon walked over to join the two in conversation._

" _Hey Night, did you know that this is Shura's first mission?"_

 _The girl turned her face with a blush of her own. The old man was going to embarrass her!_

" _No I did not."_

" _Well I thought it would be a good idea to get a picture of this moment. Care to join us?" He pulled out a Polaroid camera from the bag he had brought along with him. Shura figured he must have been planning this from the beginning._

" _Sure." He walked over to stand next to them._

 _The old exorcist had already begun to get out a stand to place the camera on top of while another exorcist took the picture. He got into position alongside Shura and Night. The human cat sidhe had decided to rest on his haunches while Shura leaned on him. Shiro gave a bright grin as the picture was taken._

" _Smile!"_

 _It took about a minute for the picture form. When said photograph was finally ready, the trio glanced down to see their results. To the paladin's dismay, he was the only one actually smiling. He gave a laugh at the revelation to which Night and Shura followed. It appeared this was the girl's way of getting back at him from earlier. This truly was a day to remember._

* * *

When Shura finished her story, Rin was awestruck. "Wow… he really does sound amazing!"

The buxom woman gave a hum of agreement. It had been a long time since she recounted these events, so it felt good to tell them to someone. "He sure is." She sunk deeper into the memories, recounting every little detail as silence ensued.

"Could I meet him?"

"Huh?" Shura raised her head in inquiry,"Oh, I hate to tell you this kid, but the last time I saw Night was four years ago. I think he was sent off on a dangerous mission back over in China. The order's always sending him to far off places since he's so ridiculously strong and intelligent when it comes to completing those missions. It's some sort of partnership between exorcist branches thing. I dunno when he'll be back or if he ever will. The damn guy's always been bad at informing others of the things he does."

Rin visibly deflated. "That fucking sucks." He had reached another dead end in his exploit. At least he knew his name now. Night, the first class exorcist of the Japan Branch.

The female exorcist shrugged. "Nothin' I can do about it. Yer on yer own, kid." She stretched her arms towards the ceiling and gave a sigh of exhaustion. "Welp, I think our training is down for the day. See ya Rin."

"See ya," the half-demon mumbled. He stood up from the place he had sat on the floor to listen to Shura's story, giving a stretch of his own. The only words that kept repeating in his head were, what should he do now? Did he really have any point in seeking some stranger who was probably thousands of miles away?

The flame haired exorcist stopped in her descent to the door as she remembered something. Shura turned back around to face Rin as she declared, "If yer able to find him, I think it would actually be a good thing for ya. He's kinda like you in a way."

He scoffed at the statement. "Yeah and how so? Because we're both demons? Just because we both know the old man?"

Shura chuckled and shook her head. The teen was way off. "Nope. It's because you both have swords with demon hearts in them."

The boy gaped at this revelation. _He what?_

"Now I've really gotta go. Bye!"

Questions began to pile in the half-demon's head, so he let them out all at once. "Wait! How is his demon heart in his sword? Why is it? Who did that for him? Is that why his power-"

"Whoa there, slow down. Even I don't know the full story. As I said before, yer on yer own, kid. See ya tomorrow." The woman whipped her long ponytail around as he headed out the door and left Rin to his thoughts. There was still so much he didn't know, but he wouldn't let it hold him back in the search for the exorcist. He now knew that it was absolutely essential to meet this man!

The boy lifted his red case onto his back and headed out the room to return to his dormitory. Upon reaching the place, he sat upon his bed to ponder the situation a bit more. He didn't do a lot of intense thinking, so he was still getting used to the sensation.

" _What's the matter Rin? You look like you're constipated or something._ " Kuro appeared by his side, twin tails swishing in question.

After the incident with the screaming, he had made up with the cat sidhe by serving him a specialty tuna dinner. All would've been resolved either way, but he enjoyed making food for his feline friend. But he now realized he had forgotten to tell the small cat about his discovery of the photograph and all events leading up to the present. "I'm alright, but, Kuro! I just found out something great!"

" _Ooooh what is it! Tell me! Tell me!_ " The demon cat began to bounce up and down in excitement.

"Well I guess you have been with Shiro for a while, so you might know him. Do you know an exorcist named Night?"

Kuro gave a happy mewl in response. " _Yes! I do know Night! He was one of my friends. I don't know where he went, though. He just kinda disappeared._ "

"Well I know around where he is and we're going to find him. After learning a few things about him from Shura, I want him to teach me how to control my demonic side. Do you wanna join me?"

The cat's exuberance began to slow as he realized something. " _Of course Rin! But know that I think about it, I'm not sure if I'd be able to face Night again._ "

His sudden melancholy expression concerned the half-demon. Was he missing something? "Why? What's wrong?"

" _It's been four years, Rin. Night doesn't know that Shiro's dead_."

The answer hit the dark haired boy hard. That was right. Shura had said before that the exorcist was bad at keeping in touch as he went off on missions. And with that thought in mind, it was no wonder things would be difficult. He couldn't possibly imagine it himself; going off on a journey only to come back and find out your dearest friend is dead from being murdered by a demon. It was just awful.

" _I'm also afraid he'd probably take it even worse than me. Night has a pretty strong hatred for other demons like you. I'm not sure if he'd even be able to keep still after hearing the news_."Kuro began to shift his paws uncomfortably. There was enough said for now.

"Then if we find him, I'll make sure he doesn't find out right away. Got it?"

" _Got it._ "

The demon boy gave out a yawn as scratched the back of his head, looking up at the clock in the room, he saw it read nine o'clock. He still had a bit of homework to do, but it could easily get done the day of. "I think I'm gonna got to sleep. Goodnight Kuro." He pulled the blankets from the bed over himself as he got himself settled, his tail now out and swishing by the side.

The little cat had jumped up onto the bed to curl up by his side. "Goodnight, Rin."

Both demons fell into slumber as the silence of the night lulled them, allowing the duo to rest with ease. Things were bound to be interesting and very informative for them tomorrow. More so than they thought.

* * *

The dark haired exorcist gave a breath of triumph as he reached the front entrance to True Cross Academy Town. It was far past dusk and the little lights from the stacks of buildings upon building illuminated the erratic project of a living center that King Samael had created. As he stumbled forward, the gatekeeper and his familiar gave him a friendly greeting. He returned with a wave but was momentarily confused by the different familiar. What had happened to Kuro? Instead of the small cat sidhe, there was now a small salamander with large purple eyes. He assumed the cat had merely gone on a mission and was relieved from his duties for now.

After another good amount of walking, he finally approached the set of apartments that were offered to the exorcists of the True Cross Order. The building was tall as everything was in this area with several sets of stairs that led to rooms through corridors. He went up to the fifth floor and headed down the corridor to the room that was listed as 7E. The exorcist reached into his pocket to pull out a golden key which unlocked his door with quick twist.

Night surveyed the scene of his room to where he had not been for quite a while. The small room had his navy blue couch off in the back corner which also could be flipped to turn into a bed. A window that had red curtains was lined with books, a bonsai plant, and picture of both he and Monaka decorated the base. To the other back corner was a small wooden desk with another window that had a few piles of papers he had forgotten to organize, and a pink mug with his name along with a small black cat face on it (given to him by the demon King of time himself as a welcome gift to the exorcist order). A majority of the floor was carpet exempting the wooden floor in the kitchen. He had fortunately left that area of his room neat. There was also a small table and two chairs made of metal grating that sat in front of the kitchen counter off to the left wall. To compliment the setting, he had hung a portrait of flowers that Monaka had given to him above said furniture. Then on the right were three doors; one led to a closet, another to a bathroom, and the final one was a food pantry.

He smiled in content at the place he called his apartment. Closing the door behind him, he took to removing his exorcist jacket and placing it in the closet. Night changed into a long white shirt and a pair of dark blue sweats to rest in. After making the certain arrangements to his couch, he settled under the covers for a well-deserved and satisfying sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Whoops I took way too long with this chapter. Due to that fact, I had to cut it short and leave you guys with a tiny bit of a cliff hanger. I apologize for the wait but I have no excuse other than school and minor writers block. Do you ever get that feeling where you know how you want your story to go, but you don't know how to write the situation? That's what was happening to me. And lastly, the receptionist in this chapter is a reference to _caitycaterpillar_ 's Blue Exorcist and How To Train Your Dragon Crossover story titled, _The Problem With Clocks_. Despite being an unfinished story, I recommend you check it out since _caity_ is a really good writer and it's also a really interesting read. Now enjoy this chapter and don't forget to provide me with some constructive criticism or ideas if you have any!**

* * *

The passage of time during the school days at True Cross seemed to only extend at an agonizing pace for Rin. He had become distracted due to the whole 'Night situation' and could hardly focus on any of his necessary subjects. His dilemma was especially bad in his high school classes. Several times Rin had caught himself needing to clear his thoughts in order to snap back to reality and attend to his curriculum to avoid getting scolded. And the piling homework certainly didn't help his case at all. It almost seemed as if the teachers _wanted_ him to suffer and perform terribly on all the objectives given. He really did try to focus, but every time he would try and build up his feeble determination, it would get smacked down by a giant wrecking ball of distraction. This was becoming quite the problem for him and quite the nuisance for his brother at the cram school.

Yukio was just about ready to give up on his incompetent brother and his constant procrastination. However, duties of his own became far more troublesome, so he just told Rin to try and work things out on his own since he didn't need to deal with his constant distraction. It was all bothersome enough.

Free time that could've been spent doing homework or studying was used to go through exorcist files he was allowed to retrieve from the archives. However, because of his low rank, Rin had received very little. The only things the files contained on Night were simple things such as his progress as a growing exorcist and first few missions over a span of five years. None of the papers had revealed anything about his abilities, or more importantly, his current location. The important ones were all locked tight in a cabinet high above his pay grade. So he had resorted to begging Yukio to borrow his identification card to be able to enter the restricted sections. After annoying the crap out of his four-eyed-mole of a brother for at least an hour, he reluctantly gave in upon the exchange that he would get back on track with receiving good grades in school. But unfortunately, it seemed things only worsened from there.

One such prominent instance of his declining attention span is when his fellow classmate, Sei Godaiin, had to tell the Okumura boy that class was over upon noticing he had been spacing out for some time after the bell rang for lunch. Speaking of Godaiin, he and Rin had become quite close after the minor demon incident. Occasionally, he would express his small ponderings to him about the typical actions of demons and the like. The teen had decided that if he was to continue to deal with the burden of seeing demons on a daily basis, he might as well be knowledgeable about them too. Now Godaiin had to give the half-demon boy's shoulder a few shakes before he had fully registered consciousness. "Rin… Hey Rin… class is over."

He snapped his head as fast a lightning strike in the direction of the sudden voice, alarmed. "Huh? Oh. What's up, Godaiin?"

The reaction made the spectrally aware boy's expression turn to that of concern. "Nothing, it's just you've been sitting here for a while. Are you alright? You seem a bit distracted."

"Yeah I'm fine. I've been thinking about something is all."

"Let me guess . . . exorcist stuff?"

Rin gave a small laugh. "Pretty much. It's kind of a complicated story, but basically I'm looking for this exorcist who knew my dad."

Godaiin was aware that the old priest whom the dark haired boy had called his father, passed away. He had spared him most to all of details, yet he summed that it wasn't a very lovely story. It also wouldn't be wise to press his newfound friend anyway. Death was a hard subject for anyone to discuss considering how it affected most very deeply. "Well what's your reason for meeting him then?"

"I don't know exactly, I thought it would be a good idea is all," Rin lied. He knew exactly what his reason was, but Godaiin didn't need to know. He was one of the few people he trusted who didn't know about his status as Satan's Spawn and wanted to keep it that way. So telling him about his demon heart wouldn't have a favorable outcome. Mephisto's words from when he had first joined the academy echoed through his head; " _Say all you want about your ears, fangs, and tail, but the flames are a big no-no."_ And his sword was a direct link to his origins, therefore he wasn't able to reveal a thing about it. Sure, the people at the cram school and Kyoto Temple had found out, but those were completely different situations. Godaiin clearly wasn't an exorcist as of now or in any sort of peril, therefore it would be a good idea to withhold all information of the subject from him.

"If you say so." Godaiin could tell the half-demon was hiding something from him. It was obvious by how he gave a nervous scratch to the back of his head with a light chuckle. Sometimes the teen couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed. It was true that getting more immersed into the world of exorcism just might literally make his own world a living hell, but he wanted to take that chance. Even so, Rin was just trying to protect him from unknown dangers and he appreciated it. A set of voices was suddenly heard calling Godaiin's name from the classroom door. "That's my friends. Looks like I've gotta go. See you later Rin."

The half-demon boy gave a friendly wave as he left the classroom to join his comrades by the door. It took some time to traverse through the expansive classroom and weave between clusters of students. Upon catching up with them, a smile brightened on his face. Good thing that the nervous guy wasn't alone. Like he had stated before, Godaiin had plenty of friends and family to support him in his unusual problem. Rin laid these thoughts to rest as he stood up from his seat to exit through the door to reach the area where his friends sat for lunch outdoors. As per usual, Koneko, Bon, and Shima were all gathered under a large tree on the grass area of campus grounds. A colorful box lunch rested in each of their laps to which they heartily enjoyed during their discussion. The majority of their expressions were happy and at rest while Bon's had a whiff of stone-cold fatigue.

Upon sighting Rin, Shima gave a wave and called out to him, "Hey man, how's your search been going for that exorcist guy?" The demon boy had told him and the rest of the Kyoto Trio about his current findings of the enigma that was Night the exorcist. It was an extremely bizarre series of events to say in the least, but interesting enough that they wanted to know how it was all playing out.

Rin settled down upon the greenery and retrieved his own boxed lunch from his book bag. He replied with a mouth full of food, "Pretty good actually. I came across a problem with accessing files, but it's gonna be quickly resolved. Then I'll finally know where Night is at."

"That's good to hear. But Rin, have you even decided what you'll say once you meet him? If I were Night, I'd think it would be a bit odd to find out some exwire had been tracking me down without some kind of explanation," Koneko questioned with a brief adjustment to his red rimmed glasses.

The small boy had a good point. In a way, it was kind of creepy for him to be so eager on seeking out every little bit of information on the exorcist. If he wasn't careful with his words, there was a strong possibility he could be mistaken for a _stalker_. The mere thought made him cringe. He could just imagine the event; he would end up describing his situation so poorly to the red-eyed exorcist that his calm demeanor would instantly turn to one of repulsion. _"Stay away from me you creep!"_ he would say while slowly backing away, fear and disgust ravaging his could fall to ruins with just a single slip up. What should he say once he meets Night?

"Umm w-well I guess I could start by saying hi?"

"Of course but-"

"Enough with all this crap! What about our upcoming physical exams?" Suguro vociferated. The boy's exhausted expression began to deepen with the furrow of his brows. This topic was just getting out of hand for him and he'd much rather focus on the important things that occurred at school. What had resulted in his tiredness was the amount of homework they were starting to offer in the high school this year that had increased so much to point that he hardly had time to sleep anymore. He barely managed to get in at least three hours of shuteye that night after thoroughly finishing 2 projects and 4 pages of homework from several different classes. This was a nightmare for the rooster-haired boy, but he wasn't going to give up. These idiots weren't going to distract him! Just how did they manage to remain so energized? He knew they were receiving the same amount of homework as him; so how...? "Damn I'm so exhausted from all this crap load of work the teachers have been throwing on us that it's not even funny! I'm not gonna even make it through before I pass out."

The other members of the group's expressions turned to that of astonishment. Bon was nervous about failing the physical exam of all things? He was the most athletic of the group aside from Okumura, so it was something to worry about. But then their faces also began to turn pallid. He wasn't the only one who was exhausted and damn tired. They all were!

Shima began to complain, "Are you kidding me, man? I've also barely been getting any sleep. I've just been putting up this facade cuz it's what keeps me going! I swear to god just end my suffering!"

"You're always putting up a facade you spy!"

"Knock it off with that crap already!"

"I know right? I usually sleep for about twelve hours, but all this investigating work has got me going on seven."

"Seven?! What the hell Okumura that's like two times more than what I get!"

"Well considering that I'm your roommate Shima, I've noticed you've barely gotten your work done anyway and you just waste time reading those perverted magazines you buy from the convenience store till it's three A.M."

"Koneko! Have you been watching me?"

"Huh?!"

"No of course not! It's just very hard to ignore when I hear-"

"Okay! I think that's enough!" Bon interjected. "Okumura? Anything you'd like to change the subject with?"

"Uhhh well I heard from Yukio that all the top exorcists from the Asian branches are going to have a meeting at our headquarters."

"Now why is that?"

The half-demon boy shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. But hey, now that I think about it, there's a possibility that I might see Night there if he's not millions of miles away in China still."

"Yeah that's true. But what do you suppose this meeting's about? Maybe they're just going over the events of the Impure King's attack at Kyoto or the whole Illuminati ordeal."

Shima gave a shrug. "Seems the most logical thing to me."

"Yes… but what if… what if there's something else? Something even worse than Lucifer and the Illuminati? I mean all the top exorcists are coming together at this meeting," Konekomaru theorized. The small boy was flexing his palms upon his knees nervously.

Rin raised his hand dismissively at the wild accusation. "Nahh I doubt it. You're just over thinking things, Koneko. Relax."

The young monk did as was suggested by taking a few deep breaths, but sweat continued to dribble down his bald forehead. His anxiety just couldn't be quelled quite as easily, but he was slowly building up his courage.

Rin rested his head upon the ground as the Kyoto trio continued their former subject about upcoming exams and the like. He agreed with them to meet up in Shima and Koneko's dorm after cram school for a study session. After this pact, the bell began to ring, signaling that lunch had ended. They bid their goodbyes to enter through the next circle of hell that was their studies for high school. The day drudged on by until their study session finally began. They laid their textbooks upon the bed in the dorm room and talked over questions and the facts presented in the pages of the thick bound books. Rin lazily stared up at the bookshelves lining Konekomaru's side of the room. They were very neat and orderly. A desk sat below one of the shelves with a computer laid upon it. A cup full of pens and pencils sat beside it. His momentary distraction was quickly crushed as Bon chastised him for not listening to question he had asked him. The boy gave an apology before asking him to repeat it. Bon sighed at his incompetence. This was going to be a very long session.

* * *

Night was sitting at the desk of his apartment, sunlight streaming through the windows illuminated the luster of his dark black hair. A set of papers lay in front of him which he took care to use in filling the last sections out of his extensive reports to all the locations which he had traveled to.

He had been on quite the exorcism trip for the past few years. First, he had attended to a small mission in Osaka, where a building was being haunted by a violent ghost. Next, he had moved up to the Chubu region where a group of Reapers were assailing those at a lake who unknowingly came near to the demons and ended up being devoured. He also couldn't possibly forget about his independent mission at the Miyama-Uguisu Mansion. Night had also passed through South Korea for a brief moment to assist with a swarm of imps that had infested one of the branch headquarters. It was hard to forget how the creatures had shouted vulgar insults at him as they clawed viciously at his face. Thank goodness the scratches had already faded long ago due to his fast healing. And finally, the most crucial of all his missions was to put a stop to the newly revived Impure Queen who was slowly growing more and more powerful in Shenyang, China. The demon was quite the force to be reckoned with due to the fact that the exorcists weren't doing the greatest job at preventing it from fully forming. Over thousands of citizens and exorcists alike had gotten affected by the miasma which erupted from the fully formed spores. They were put in intensive care after he had helped to put a sure end to the queen's destructive reign. Night was also aware that the other three members of the Impure demon family had made an appearance a little while back which made him suspicious. Namely the Impure King.

A report he had fetched from the archives stated that back in Kyoto, two exorcists had conspired in returning the eyes of the infectious demon to its corpse, bringing about its revival. But thanks to the Myoda Sect and a group of several other exorcists from the True Cross Order, it was defeated. A particular name came up a few times in the document of a person who was said to have done a great deal in the Impure King's defeat. This caught Night's attention; _Rin Okumura_. Okumura. . . wasn't that the surname of the twins that Shiro was looking after? He faintly recalled meeting Yukio once during the Kuro incident, but that was it. Then that must mean Rin was the other one. The revelation made him happy to know that another had been guided down the path of exorcism by Shiro Fujimoto. He would perhaps have to visit the boys since it was said that the both of them attended here at True Cross Academy.

Another report spoke of how it was recently discovered that the Illuminati faction led by the demon king of light was holding a base in the Inari distract. Horrid descriptions of the various experiments held at the facility made Night's stomach churn. He simply couldn't bear to look at the photos taken of the area filled with the corpses of amalgamations of demons and humans.

But back to the troubling issue about the Impure demons. After the King had been revived, next arrived the Princess, then recently the Baron. It was all far too much. Their creator, Astaroth, was in the lowest rank of all the demon kings, but he was the most stubborn and persistent. His other kin the coal tar were a prime example as they infested every dark corner of both Assiah and Gehenna. He remembered when he used to spend his days in that wasteland the tiny black creatures would chitter and tease him. He was so pathetic that the lower level demons would treat him like shit. If only… if only Pazuzu hadn't shred his wings…

 _Stop it. Thinking of the past won't help me._ Night shook his head to wake himself back up from the horrid memories, his shadow-like bangs swaying with the motion. Manic laughter echoed through his mind shaking him to the core. The ghostly sensation of intense pain stung his back. After taking a few deep breaths, silence returned. Pazuzu was dead and there was no doubt about it. He had killed the filthy bastard of a demon himself. But that still didn't deter the fact that he longed for his lost ability of flight. It was so long ago that he would have easily mistaken it for a delusion if it wasn't for the tell-tale scars upon his back. Every now and then he'd have dreams about soaring through the dark groggy skies of Gehenna, feeling safe and free from all possible dangers upon the ground. He was mid-level demon, but that didn't mean others weren't likely to try and harm him. It was quite the enjoyable resource for he would perform all sorts of tricks while airborne, from barrel rolls to loop de loops. This euphoria he'd experience is something that Pazuzu believed an underling like him didn't deserve. That day when Pazuzu had summoned him for what he claimed to be "an important task" is when it all went downhill. The demon grabbed the poor cat sidhe mix with his sharp claws, catching him unaware. The mocking laugh came back again as did the feeling of his razor-sharp nails plucking out his appendages. Point is, Night was very happy that he no longer had to go back to that dreadful place. He had a home here in Assiah where people mostly cared for his wellbeing. Best of all, he had a name.

Night completed the last of his report and stood up from his desk, arching his back. He made his way over the stack of books by the opposite window and paused to study his beloved photograph that was displayed in a gold frame. It was of himself standing beside the most important person to him in all of Assiah; Monaka Miyama-Uguisu.

...

Over the span of his travels, he went back to visit the flower arranger upon his return trip. He had forgotten how fast humans aged for Monaka had already become a spritely young adult at age nineteen. The girl was now around the same estimated age as his own human body. She was absolutely ecstatic for his surprise visit and beckoned him inside her home. The abode was as lovely as always with the multitude of plants that decorated both the indoor and outdoor areas. But things seemed even brighter upon the fact that Monaka was now happy and free from her false uncle's grasp. She led him to a small table where she served him a cup of tea. The young lady smiled as she placed the fragile cup in his hands which he took a sip from after cooling it down with a puff of air. His crimson eyes spoke of gratitude and mirth for the young girl which pleased her greatly. He had done so much for her in one day those four years ago; for a complete stranger of all things. The action was so surreal to her that the least she could do was invite him back into her home to express her many thanks. But there was something else unreadable in his eyes. What was it? She had a feeling that she knew something but was unable to remember.

"So, Mister Exorcist, what brings you here?"

Night set his cup down upon the small plate provided. "I just happened to be passing by and decided to see how you've been doing," he spoke with a smooth air. "Any updates you'd like to tell me about your family business?"

"Well ever since you had arrived that day, things have been going great! A lot more clients have been coming here and I'm slowly improving my flower arranging skills. Anything with you?" her last few words softend in sudden shyness.

The young man smiled. Monaka may have aged, but she still housed the same optimistic spirit within her. "I just went on a long mission in China and I'm going back to headquarters which is still pretty far away."

The young woman was noticeably lost in thought before replying to his question. "... Oh! China! I've heard wonderful things about the plants that grow there. "Her eyes began to waver and tilt as thought consumed her once again. Night noticed how the hand that rested in her lap kept clenching and unclenching. Her other hand's grip around the porcelain cup began to loosen. These odd actions made the exorcist concerned.

"Monaka. . . are you alright?"

"Hm? Uhh yes! It's nothing to worry about."

Night wasn't content with such a half-assed answer. There was no harm in pushing her a little more. He was her friend and wanted to do all that he could to make sure she was happy. "Tell me anyway." The exorcist rested his hand under his chin to emphasize that he was listening. He also gave a small smile in an effort to ease her minor anxiety.

Monaka gave a brief inhale before she ventilated her inner turmoil. "Really, I am alright, but something has been bothering me. To put it into words I've been feeling a bit lonely here in the mansion. I have the company of the servants and all, but it's just not enough. I want some real friends. You see, a while back a dear friend of mine went missing and I don't know if he'll ever come back. You may laugh at this, but he was a cat and my only friend. And I want to see him again so badly! I just… I don't know if I should continue to wait or if I should give up. Something must have happened to him."

The young man's crimson eyes widened. She was talking about him! Did he really leave her feeling that way? Night had never told the young woman about his true identity after the Miyama-Uguisu mansion incident, therefore she was oblivious to the fact that her dear friend was actually sitting right in front of her sharing a cup of tea. He was finally able to chat with her just like they had both always wished. But he was just so nervous in telling her who he really was, and now was certainly not the time. "Have you forgotten what I've told you?"

The flower arranger looked up in confusion with a slight tilt to the head, her white hair shifting with the motion and light eyes bright with curiosity. She gave a small hum to display her befuddlement.

" _Don't give up_. Besides I'm sure your friend will come back."

"But how do you know?"

"I came back didn't I?" A small shade of pink and a polite smile spread across his features.

Monaka raised the edge of her sleeve to her mouth. Several suitors had come to her doorstop before with all sorts of gifts, affections, and compliments, but none had ever touched her as deeply as this mysterious man's. "Mister exorcist… you're too kind."

"I'm just telling the truth," he shrugged nonchalantly.

After the last few remaining drops within their teacups were consumed, the young girl raised herself from the small table to collect the tea set back onto the silver tray. She disappeared into the kitchen area before coming back to the exorcist's side. His gaze had never left her movements, observing everything from the small twinkle in her light orbs to the sway of her stocking feet as she traversed about her home. It still amazed him how this female had made his whole world with just the simplest of kindness. In the beginning he had pushed away without a second thought until she kept coming back to him. It had made the demon wonder, _Why me? How could I possibly deserve this purity in my life? I've done nothing to earn this. But… I'll make sure to treasure it while it lasts._ And treasure it so he did. And he would continue to do so for as long as the young woman was still around. He hated to think about it, but human lives were so short. Next thing he knew, she could have a family with a handful of children all because he lost track of time. So he promised to himself that after returning to headquarters, he would come back to this mansion right away and tell her everything she needed to know. Night really loved Monaka very much and couldn't stand keeping this secret from her.

"Mister Exorcist?" she spoke, breaking him from his heavy inner monologue.

"Yes?"

"I want us to take a picture together! I feel like you've become someone important to me, so why not cherish it with a picture? I'll give you a copy if you want." One of her household servants was seen behind her, holding a camera in hand.

"Definitely." He began to stand up, stretching his limbs, before heading out to the back garden for an ideal backdrop. The weather was still relatively nice outdoors especially due to the fact that the colder seasons were soon arriving. The plants were still fresh and green, light drops of dew sliding off their structures. The exorcist positioned himself beside the flower arranger as the camera released a flash. He gave a small smile while Monaka had given a big and bright one.

The photograph was placed in a golden frame she had left over in one of the studies. She set it beside a painting she had created for him, declaring, "These are both for you to keep. Please bring them back with you on your journey."

Night gave a chuckle. "I don't think I'd be able to carry these with me, but you can send them to my address at True Cross." He took a piece of paper and writing utensil from a nearby desk and wrote down the address to his apartment. He could ask some people at the branch to set the gifts up somewhere in his abode for when he returned.

"Alright. One last thing." She revealed a small pin with a yellow buttercup in her palm and attached it to the collar of his dark coat. "The least you can do is have this."

He nodded. "I should get going now. It was wonderful to see you again." The exorcist made his way to the front entrance and gave the girl's palm a light kiss. The action made her pale face become alarmingly flushed. It made him internally snigger. She was too pure for her own good. He began his descent across the stone walkway to the street.

"Goodbye Mister Exorcist! Although, I can't keep calling you that. What's your name?"

"Hmm… maybe I'll tell you the next time I come to visit."

A small indignant huff escaped the young woman's mouth. "When will that be?"

"I'll be back before you know it. I promise." The man in the dark coat gave a small wave as he slung his blue case over his shoulder. Monaka watched as he left the perimeters of her property, her eyes following his every footstep. She then began to take notice of his shadow. There was something odd about it. The outline of something long and thin trailed behind him, but nothing could be seen to cause such a phenomenon. It kind of looked like a tail. Before she could make any clear assumptions, the man had already left the vicinity.

...

The tender memories that had filled his head began to pass as soon as he righted himself to his task at hand. Like any person that lived in Assiah, he had to attend to fetching the rest of his mail from the slots at the office. He grabbed his exorcist jacket and blue case off the wooden rack and slung them onto his shoulders. The demon also picked up his reports to send in. Night passed by the nearby mirror and looked into the clear surface to view his appearance. It had already been a decade and nothing in his visage had changed. His skin remained flawlessly pale and his eyes were as bright and sharp as ever like garnets. His hair was the solid black it had always been. Just one of the many perks to being a demon; if you take care of your body well you will remain with unparalleled looks that are sure to draw in an unsuspecting victim. But of course, Night wasn't that type of demon, nor would he want to be. He just wanted to be regarded as any other human who wanted happiness. The dark haired man stepped outside the door of his apartment upon readjusting himself, and slid the key into the lock behind him. He began to make his way over to the mailboxes which were probably overflowing like a fountain due to his long absence. Another key was available to him that could give him the ability to transport to the area, but he decided against it. After all, nothing was wrong with a little exercise. The distance to said area from his complex was only about four building sections away.

All of the surrounding area was packed with people as it was regularly. For all sorts of reasons the masses walked about from this way and that, producing an abundance of noise with their chatter and footsteps. It unnerved Night to be around such a large crowd, but he was slowly getting used to the sensation of flowing around the pandemonium. Just one more zone of the town's crowd and he'd reach the mail building. He looked up and began to take notice of heavily ornate signs about an upcoming festival. There were also bright colorful balloons being strung onto some of the rooftops that displayed interesting patterns of faces. Despite the fact of how the human cat-sidhe planned to leave the campus as soon as possible, he knew he couldn't pass up this festival. Besides, it was just starting next week. Nothing else would hold him back from seeing his friend. But it was odd. The festival was known to take place at an earlier season. Shouldn't it have already begun a while back? Night mentally shrugged at this conjecture and continued on his way.

After facing the claustrophobic conditions of the area, Night finally made it the mailing office. The building was no different from the others with the same stone color, abundance of windows, and pointed, tiled rooftop. He entered the constructed dwelling and gave a gesture of greeting to the others within before moving to the dark gray slots. He retrieved the tiny key from within his coat and swung it into the lock. As expected, a multitude of mail from junk to important came spilling out. The scene caused others nearby to look on in a mix of confusion, pity, and hilarity. One human began to laugh while another frowned, but made no effort to approach and help. Night just gave a sigh at the mess upon the floor and went ahead to sorting out the letters to avoid further embarrassment. He had managed to get them into two separate piles then proceeded to throw out all of the junk into a nearby waste bin. All of the mail that wasn't junk he gathered in his freehand. The other hand was used to slide his report into the box to be sent to the order. He locked his own mailbox and began to go through all of the letters. The first two letters were ones sent by Shura and Shiro which he'd make sure to read first thing when he got home. There was also another from Shiro's monastery. Then there was a few from the headquarters which was to be expected. And finally there was one with giant red letters stating **IMPORTANT** , stamped across the front. According to the date, it was just sent in yesterday. Night immediately began to open it upon its conspicuous significance. Inside was a heavily decorated pink letter. _King Samael…_ Its contents composed of a bubbly font with several stickers, drawings, and a polka dot border. Just looking at the damn thing was giving him a headache, so he took care to reading it at once to get it over with.

' _Dear Night,_

 _Welcome back to True Cross! It's been such a long while hasn't it? Hope the other branches had been treating you well on your journey~. ^x^_

 _In fact, I would just love to hear_ _ **all**_ _about it in my office so come stop by when you have time. So many things have happened while you were away so I'm sure you'd also love to hear all about that too._

 _I'll be waiting~ ^x^_

 _Mephisto'_

After reading the letter, Night looked up at a nearby clock upon the wall to check the time. It read as 6:03. He assumed the eccentric demon king would still be in his office waiting for him even now. There was nothing else important for the human cat-sidhe to do now, so he made way over to the main building at the headquarters where Mephisto's office was. The roads were less compacted as the bright sun began to sink into the horizon, causing the little lights from surrounding structures to flick on in response. At night, the academy looked beautiful with all of the illuminated masterpieces of abodes.

There was a great stairway that lead up into Mephisto's office. They were white stairs with a red carpet trailing down the middle that had a golden trumpet vine pattern upon it. A glossy brown railing sat to the right of it with a black intricate grate to support it. These stairs came in great numbers, so it took some time before reaching the top. Upon entering the final floor, a female attendant was seen who sat at a desk outside of the double doors that lead into the chairman's office. The woman wore a pair of thin metal spectacles and had her long brunette hair up into a tight bun. She appeared to be new as Night had never seen her before. A receptionist perhaps? "Is Sir Pheles in?" he asked.

The receptionist gave pause to her incessant clacking of keyboard keys to look over at the human cat-sidhe. She then glanced down at a planner full of schedule dates that rested upon the desk. "Are you Night?" Her glasses gleamed from the brightness of the computer screen as she moved her head to look up at him once again.

He gave a nod in response.

"Sir Pheles is waiting for you inside. Go on in." She made a swaying motion with her hand before returning to her current task upon the electronic device.

Night walked across the carpeted floor to open the wide double doors that lead into the demon king's office. He clasped the brass handles that were attached to the dark wooden panels and gave it a pull. The office was just as finely furnished as he remembered. His shoes came to step upon an expensive floral carpet as his eyes rested upon the red walls that were adorned with several abstract portraits. Some nearby tables had porcelain vases upon them with well kept roses of the pastel variety and candelabras. A fireplace sat next to the great desk with no fire roaring inside, but had an array of decorations on the mantelpiece. Now at the desk was a large computer screen, a pile of papers, some sort of rabbit paperweight, a desk lamp with a pink shade, and a grand swivel chair with the back of it facing towards him in front of a large window containing small sections of squares.

"Night. I see you've arrived." Mephisto gracefully swung around his chair with the heel of his boot to face him, greeting him with a big toothy smile. "Congrats on completing your journey!"

"Thanks" he responded simply. Night made the few extra steps to stand directly in front of the eccentric demon king's desk.

The man folded his gloved hands together and rested them under his bearded chin, grin still remaining. "Did you encounter any significant troubles?"

"No, everything was handled properly."

"Excellent! That's good to hear. I expect no less from one of my top exorcists. And what about that _special_ assignment of yours? Things went well with that too I hope?"

Night slightly stiffened at the realization of the chairman's reference to the Miyama-Uguisu mansion incident. "Ah yes, yes it did."

The clown-like man's emerald eyes briefly gleamed. "I see… now onto business! What would you like to know?"


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hello and I return! I apologize for the long wait. A lot has been going on in my life. I still intend to finish this story, but this chapter here however I could not. I was deeply dissatisfied with how it turned out and I will seek to improve it later in the future. But for now, I'm going to go on a hiatus for this story along with this unfinished chapter to entertain you guys with. I'd actually love to find a beta reader out there who would be willing to work with me on this story, so if any of you are interested in beta reading Antiques of the Past, feel free to DM me.**

 **But hey, I also just recently uploaded a Bee and Puppycat two-shot, so feel free to check that out too if you're interested.**

 **Enjoy and don't forget to provide me with some constructive criticism!**

* * *

What exactly _did_ he want to know? Night absently stared at the outlined ceiling above in his ponderings. It was dark with several squared panels that were the color of wheat. It almost reminded him of Monaka's mansion…. okay, now he was just getting distracted. Far too many questions circled his head like a swarm of bothersome coal tar, their sticky bodies composed of filth that easily latched onto the tiniest element, and he didn't know which one to snatch from the air to get things going.

However, he didn't blame himself for feeling so frazzled. The trip to Shenyang had been excellent with a multitude of sights, sounds, and smells that had bombarded his demonic senses. Most of these actually composed of smog, pollution, hazy lights, yet good food that made up for all the nauseating grayness. China was a nice place if you just had the ability to overcome choking on the filthy air. This is all just exaggeration of course for the area Night had visited wasn't nearly as affected. But all of this aside, he was having trouble focusing.

His gaze swiveled to the ground as if he'd be able to find the answer beneath his feet in big bolded letters. If only it really were that easy. With a bit of consideration, the human cat-sidhe decided to start off with a basic question. "Are there any important details you could tell me about the Impure King and Illuminati incidents?"

The debonair demon's lids tilted ever so slightly in amusement which only seemed to increase their steady luminescence. "What sort of details? Do you mean concerning those directly involved?"

Night gave a swift nod. "Yes. I know most of what occurred but I feel like something's missing in the information." There was obviously nothing that was actually lacking in the filed reports, the human cat-sidhe just believed that with the help of the demon king, the facts would become much clearer. Sometimes taking things from the perspective of another unveiled certain bits and pieces that had not been fully realized. Such advice is what helped Night reach the position he was at now, of course, along with other factors such as his demonic capabilities.

"Alright then. Let's see…" Mephisto held up a stray paper from his desk as his other gloved forefinger lightly tapped his temple to emphasize the metaphorical gears turning in his head. Once all had been formulated within the King of Time's clockwork mind, he began his summary on the events. "The Myoda Sect has been a faction known for their ancestor defeating the Impure King centuries ago, however that wasn't necessarily true. A little secret of theirs spilled out that they simply kept all halves of the demon sealed in various locations to keep him from being revived. Each head priest was burdened to keep this fact to themselves. Suburota Todoh was a man who I had entrusted to the deep keep, but I never expected he had ulterior motives with the Illuminati. Interesting, was it not? I still can't help but wonder what he's exactly doing even now. And Mamushi was nothing but a sad little puppet in his game that lost her exorcism title for different reasons. Now about the situation in Inari, that was another mission where we learned vital information. We had already found beforehand the Illuminati's creation of an artificial Gehenna gate, but there was so much more. They had hidden behind an organization referred to as the Bright Future Foundation and experimented on implanting demons into humans by force. My brother sure is grotesque to allow such things to take place. He has the most absurd idea of clashing our worlds together." Night took notice of how Mephisto's fingers tapped anxiously upon mention of the King of Light. It must be quite the problematic situation to make the chairman nervous.

Then the demon suddenly snapped his fingers in realization. "Oh yes! And we can't forget about how much of a help the eldest Okumura brother was to both of these operations." His eyes glanced back from the corners to catch any hints of realization from the infamous surname of the specimen that was the demon king's half-brother.

And recognize the surname he did. "Are you talking about Rin Okumura?" Night thought back to the reports again on how the boy was able to use powerful flames to cleanse people from the spores that had immaculate their bodies. The mere description of his power was one to be impressed of- from a teenager no less. But it was no surprise to Night that the Illuminati would be the driving force behind the impure demon appearances. Astaroth was seen to always be riding on the tails of other demon kings so he could manage more control over Assiah as the power hungry beast he was. The demon king of rot was worse than Beelzebub (the demon king of insects) which said a lot. Thankfully, the human cat-sidhe never had the luxury of meeting these nefarious kings in close contact, nor did he ever wish to.

The deep toothy smirk reappeared upon the King of Time's face. He began to stroke the violet hair beneath his chin. "Why of course. I enrolled both he and his younger brother, Yukio here at the academy. What he lacks in mentality he provides in strength. It is quite the pleasure watching him defeat various demons. I suggest you meet him if you ever get the chance."

"Is the boy really a half-demon as they say?"

"Indeed he is. It's another reason for why Rin Okumura is such a valuable asset to the order." He set the paper down upon the desk and rested his wrists upon the glossy wooden surface. "Anything else you'd like to know?"

Night wracked his brain once again. What came to mind had to be the most useless question of all, but he couldn't help but ask and voice his thoughts aloud. "Why is the festival being held in the winter time? Doesn't it usually occur at around summer?"

Mild perplexion from the unexpected question had Mephisto raising an eyebrow. That was certainly the most childish inquiry he's heard. He gave a small chuckle at its abruptness. "I've decided to hold another festival on account of the incident that occurred during our last one. You should know that Lucifer put a sudden halt in the merrymaking with his declaration of war." He gave a sigh displaying his sudden tedium of the stressful topic. "Is there anything else you'd like to ask?"

By now, the cloud of questions had already settled within the young demon's mind. "No. I think that's everything." Despite what he had said, another remained in the back of his mind trying to make the effort to fully develop and become coherent, but failing only to remain an incomplete jumble.

Mephisto leaned forward over his desk to look deeper into the human cat-sidhe's unsure expression. He observed the dark haired exorcist's response closely. "Are you absolutely sure?"

It appeared the Demon King of Time was trying to hint at something, but he just wasn't able to compute. His acidic green eyes spoke of mocking and concealment of what should be obvious facts. However, Night knew there was no time to dwell on the subject. The reason he arrived to this brief chat here in the office was definitely not to figure out Mephisto's riddles. It was just simply to receive his new assignment from the order. If his human form didn't deprive him of his demonic features, his tail would surely be swishing now along with his cat ears folded back. He nodded his head causing his obsidian bangs to sway with the motion. "Yes I'm sure."

The flamboyant demon raised a gloved hand to his face while mumbling, _"Quite the bore aren't you?"_ He relaxed back into his swivel chair and set aside a few papers to rest his elbow comfortably upon the sheen desk. "If you insist I'll dive right into the subject of your next mission. Lucky for you, this mission won't be taking you as far as last time. You're going to teach a combat class here at True Cross Academy for the rest of the school year!"

Night's crimson eyes widened in surprise. The rest of the school year… that meant he'd be here at headquarters for seven months. This would usually be of no concern to him if he wasn't so eager on returning back to Monaka. He remembered how the flower arranger had mentioned briefly that she was going to be heading on a trip soon. He had to see her before then! And as much as he hated to admit it, the worst case scenario would be that the young woman had already found her ideal suitor and forgotten all about him! Night couldn't allow this to happen on account that he hasn't told her who he really is yet! It just couldn't! Seven months was too long for a human!

"The reason for this is that we have been short staffed here at headquarters lately due to our close investigations on activity relating to the Illuminati. And we are direly in need of qualified exorcists such as you to train our students so they can eventually join in on the important missions themselves. There have already been more than two incidents relating to this topic such as our former summoning teacher Igor Neuhaus ended up betraying the order and a training camp that fell to ruins. And you also can't forget about Mr. Saburota. So as you can see, it would be most appreciated if you-"

"I won't do it."

"Pardon?" Mephisto's amiable facade began to crack.

"You heard me. I'm not gonna do it. Find someone else because I don't have the time to take care of a bunch of rookies."

A sinister snarl began to curl the sophisticated demon's features in display of his disgust at the raven-haired demon's unsightly manners. "Oh really? Is that right?" His features surprisingly remained stoic and nothing past to extremity as he stood up from his desk to walk around and directly stand in front of Night.

He was either being a fool, brave, or both, yet the human cat-sidhe stared back into those luminous orbs that rang with a forte of outrage that clashed with the placid line of his mouth. "Yes. Sir, if you please, give a free pass on this one. I just don't have the time to do long assignments right now."

Mephisto scoffed, "Night, are you suggesting that you're going to renounce your title as exorcist?"

"I guess it does," he replied with little hesitation. He turned to leave until Mephisto's gloved hand stopped him, claws digging into the shoulder of his jacket only to pull him back to his original position again. It was clear he had made a mistake when the demon king's expression began to morph in to one that hinted of unfathomable fury.

"Now now now, you seem to forget something." Mephisto released the human cat-sidhe only to prod him in the chest with the sharp tip of his index finger. "I can easily take away all _THIS_ away from you. Your human form, your demon blade, and your precious belongings. If you give up being an exorcist or refuse orders, it all goes away. Poof!" Here he had made a dramatic gesture to provide emphasis. "After all I _am_ the one who was kind enough to provide you with such gifts, so I advise you be a good little kitty and listen to me if you don't want such an unfortunate thing to happen. Understand?" The chairman trained his eyes upon the insolent youth before him. It was of the greatest certainty that this scare tactic would whip him into shape. But even if it was all just to give the demon exorcist a fright, every single drop of his words was genuine.

 _Goddammit… Goddammit!_ The demon king had caught the human cat-sidhe in the palm of his hand. Then did this mean any sense of freedom he believed to have as an exorcist was fake?! He had no choice in any of this. To lose everything he had gained over the last couple of years would just leave him feeling worthless all over again. A possible way to deal with this situation is he could give everything up and return to Monaka as a speechless cat-sidhe, but make her happy nonetheless. But on the other hand, the true ideal situation for Night is that he worked hard through this assignment, return to Monaka in hopes of still being about in her hometown, and confess everything to her he's wanted to say for a very long time. It was a risky gamble, but Night was willing to take it for his beloved. Now was the time to make a decision for Mephisto's annoyance began to resurface.

"Do you understand?"

"Alright. I understand. I'll take this bothersome assignment."

"Glad we see eye to eye~." The chairman gave a cruel smirk as he circled back around his grand desk to rest comfortably in his swivel chair. "I have one last thing to say before you leave. Tomorrow a meeting will be held between all the top exorcists of the branches which you shall be required to attend. That's all. Goodbye for now!" He gave a melodramatic wave towards the frazzled cat-demon.

Night only gave a heavy exhale as he padded back towards the paneled doors and left to return to his apartment. He could deal with human children, but as far as he could tell from experience, human teenagers were the _worst_. This was going to be a long seven months.

…

Rin was so close to finding the answers he wanted that he could feel it. He bounded up and down in his seat with his tail in the same sporadic frenzy. It was either through sheer luck or his determination that the half-demon's goals were about to be realized. It was extremely difficult, but the dark haired teen had managed to pull off at least two week's worth of fully attentive class sessions along with complete assignments. This was enough to convince Yukio that Rin deserved his prize on receiving the information about Night.

"Mr. Okumura…"

He could hardly wait till class ended! The time where everything would be revealed was close! Oh so very close!

"Mr. Okumura."

Rin's excitement was causing him to consecutively countdown the time within his head. His mouth pulled up into a cheeky grin that exposed his canines.

"Mr. Okumura!"

Before he realized what he was doing, the half-demon boy voiced his inner timer by responding, "Forty-five!" The students laughed at his abrupt and nonsensical answer. However, this did not please his irritated homeroom teacher very much. Her pruny face dissolved into a stern frown that looked as charming as a decayed apple. So much for being excited about the rest of the day. Rin gave a deep gulp as his eyes bulged on account of his mistake.

"Mr. Okumura, before I lose my head would you please read the following section within the chapter of our textbooks?" she asked stiffly.

"Uhh y-yes ma'am!" He shot up from his seat and began to mumble the section. That sure was a close one. He thought he was going to be thrown in detention or some bullcrap of the like just for spacing out for a couple seconds. Luckily this certain teacher of his could be pretty forgiving as long as you didn't cross her limit for a repeated number of times. That was all thanks to Rin's current studious behavior.

The uninteresting piece of text discussed a part of history about some army general or whatever who had come up with a clever tactic that had successfully defeated the opposing side. The teen wasn't all that attentive to whatever he was reading to actually make an opinion on it. All he knew was that it seemed most of history contained nothing but endless fighting with the only difference being the names and places. Thankfully, it came to a close within seconds, just in time as the bell rang. As per usual, the teacher reminded the students of their assignments and tomorrow's quiz on the chapter. Rin gathered his books and materials into his shoulder bag then made his way over to the exiting door. He would've instantly sprinted to the dorms if it wasn't for the light tap of a palm that grazed his left shoulder. The half-demon boy paused and looked in the direction of the action to see the beckoning expression of his teacher. "Mr. Okumura, may I speak with you for a moment?"

Rin gulped. Oh no… was he in trouble after all? It was only a small moment of getting distracted. It shouldn't have been enough to get on her bad side. "Yeah sure."

They waited for the rest of the class to file out through the exit before initiating to conversation. The teacher cleared her throat and began to speak. "Mr. Okumura. I would like to go over your performance with you on these last two weeks. Now tell me… did anything good happen as of late?"

What now? She was starting to get unusually personal in his view. "Umm I guess? What's this all about?"

She then broke out into a huge smile. "Oh I'm just so proud on how your determination to do well in this class has increased!"

Eh? Well this was certainly unexpected. "T-Thank you very much."

"It's no problem Mr. Okumura. Please keep up the good work." She gave him another smile before shooing him out of her classroom and locking the door behind him. Rin rushed down the halls in his excitement. This was good news he supposed. With an alibi on how his performance in class had considerably increased, there was no way that Yukio could refuse to help him further on the mystery concerning Night.

Passing through the tunnel of passages allowed Rin more time to dwell on the future events of the end of school. With Yukio's assistance there was zero chance of not getting any info, right? Right?

…

 _Sure, way to jinx it,_ the older Okumura grumbled when the younger gave him the disheartening news.

"I'm sorry Rin," he sighed, "the archived files for Night was closed off for recent updates. There's nothing more I can do."

"But why? I'm so close to figuring things out! Is there a reason why it's closed off?" This was something the older Okumura brother had been focused on for too long and damn it, he was determined to see this through to the end.

Yukio paused and rested a fingertip beneath his chin. "Well… I do believe the sign that blocked off the files did say something about recent updates. Maybe it's a sign that he has left China to attend the exorcist meeting."

"Yes… yes of course!" Rin shot out of his seat, tail wagging in a frenzy of excitement. "Holy crap! And that meeting is tomorrow!" He suddenly gave a little dance of victory by pumping his fists into the air.

Yukio nodded in confirmation. "Perhaps you'll find him then."

Yes without a doubt this time would prove to have results.

…

Another day had come for his stay at True Cross.

The aroma of freshly brewed herbal tea sifted around Night's apartment, filtering through the open windows. The red curtains were pulled aside to allow light in. They ruffled in the breeze that came from the cold air outside.

The same breeze faintly passed through Night's dark hair. He currently had his dark coat removed and sat in the wooden chair at his desk. The porcelain mug rested in his palm steamed, causing the thick tendrils of gas to curl up and brush against his sensitive nose. He took a sip before turning the page in a heavy bound book he was reading. The content was of exorcist fighting techniques which he figured would be a good idea to review if he is to become a teacher of combat at True Cross. It went over all the styles of the different meisters ranging in from weapons to hand to hand combat, etc.

He glanced up towards the round clock on his wall to check the time. The ticking hands revealed the time to only be thirty minutes before the big meeting was supposed to start. Night figured that now was as good a time as any to start making his way over to the entrance. Better one hour early than one minute late as the human saying went. The human cat-sidhe gulped down the rest of the contents within his mug and set it back down to the corner of his desk. He got up from the chair and stretched his arms above his head along with a huge yawn. It was tiring being an exorcist if he was being honest here with all of the paperwork, training, battles, and constant travel. But in the end, it was all worth it for the greater goal that resulted in the end; protecting those he cared for.

Night gave one last look at the paragraph within his book before closing its pages to slide it back within its selected spot on his bookshelf. Well it was less of a bookshelf and more of a stack of books that sat upon the windowsill. He shut the windows and drew the curtains. It was cold enough of a day as is, and the human cat-sidhe didn't need any more drafts to enter his tiny apartment. And finally, the demon exorcist slipped on his coat and locked the door behind him to enter the damned blustery weather. He shivered from the lack of warmth that his coat provided despite being of some pretty heavy black material. It was hard being in a form where you lacked any fur and had to rely on the protection of some mere garments to regulate your body temperature. Just how did humans do it? Night sighed as he passed through the throngs of people that almost never seemed to grow any smaller within True Cross.

The structure that led to the meeting hall was directly across from the entrance to the high school. It had a round, marble dome over top that served as the roof. Also another one of those ridiculously chromatic balloons had been tied to the spire overhead. This particular one had the face of a rabbit in the colors of red, green, and yellow that was accented by a series of bold curved lines. The ears of the rabbit extended from the balloon in long stalks that wavered in the active wind. The dark-haired exorcist couldn't help but roll his eyes at the display that was strung atop the building where serious matters were to be discussed.

Other exorcists came in a large crowd around him, shuffling towards the large doorway in unison. Night was now just a single black coat out of many more. The variety among them from miester and place of origin was in great abundance. They had all stared their descent down a series of stone steps that lead to the exorcist headquarters. The thing was, that the headquarters weren't really inside the building on campus, it was just opened with a port key so all the exorcists could enter simultaneously. More stone edifices came into view surrounded by a scant amount of torchlight. The exorcists began breaking off into their groups, some chatting, and others such as him sat off to the side. Night crossed his arms and leaned against a pillar. It would now take about ten more minutes to wait for the superiors to usher them all in to the main room. The human-cat sidhe was stuck with people watching in order to amuse himself for next period of time. His crimson eyes began to glaze over until he caught sight of a pair of familiar figures among the throng of exorcists approaching from the doors down the hall. He smiled as he got up to approach the duo. They were exorcists he had worked alongside in his mission in China; Lucy Yang and Cheng-Long Liu.

* * *

 **(*Antiques of the Past is now on a temporary hiatus*)**


End file.
